Massachusetts officer put on Brady List after excessive force incident

A police chief in Weymouth, Massachusetts, has petitioned to have Justin Chappell decertified as an officer for excessive force during an arrest.

A former Weymouth police officer has pleaded guilty to punching a handcuffed man 13 times with a closed fist without justification.

Justin Chappell, 43, pleaded guilty in federal court Tuesday to one count of deprivation of rights under color of law.

U.S. District Court Judge Allison D. Burroughs scheduled sentencing for July 16. In exchange for the guilty plea, the officer will receive no jail time, according to a court document.

The charge arises from an incident in July 2022, which was caught on a body-worn police camera, which Weymouth officers started wearing in the summer of 2021.

In a seven-minute video, an officer identified as Chappell is seen punching the handcuffed man, identified by police as Donald McAdam, more than a dozen times. Police said McAdam had spit on officers.

Chappell had two previous incidents of unprofessional conduct, according to internal affairs reports provided by the Weymouth Police Department.

In the first incident, on Jan. 23, 2022, Chappell was off duty and intoxicated when he got into an altercation at a convenience store in Stoughton, according to an internal affairs report. Stoughton police placed him into protective custody and reported that he was "defiant, uncooperative and argumentative."

About a month later, on Feb. 24, 2022, Chappell punched a person in the head during an arrest, according to an internal affairs report. The commission cited this incident in its decision to decertify Chappell.

News Source : https://www.patriotledger.com/story/news/2024/04/24/justin-chappell-weymouth-ma-police-body-cam-punched-man/73437968007/